Post-exodus, Tom, Weaver and Hal run through some brush to where Tom arranged to rendezvous with Cochise. Espheni beamers streak overhead, and Weaver thinks he hears something in the brush. They creep up to the rundown industrial building, where Hal notices green sniper targets on Tom’s forehead.

The sniper bead on Tom is just the result of a twitchy Volm. Cochise comes out and introduces his second-in-command, Shak-Chic Il She- Shesash, or “Shaq,” as Hal dubs him. Shaq is not amused by the nickname. Weaver whistles all 71 survivors into the factory, while Cochise takes Tom to see where on the map Matt’s been located.

At EJ School, Matt has been locked in a basement cell. Kent delivers food and his belief in Matt’s potential, provided he gives up the names of his co-conspirators.

Humans and hooded Volm cram together inside the rundown factory. Cochise located Matt accidentally, thanks to their bug-like air drones. Weaver insists on going on the rescue mission. Tom empowers Hal to feed and care for their ragtag fleet in his absence: “The 2ndMass needs to get back to fighting strength.” Or at least running strength, as the Espheni flyovers are not giving up. The rescue mission doesn’t get far before Weaver goes on alert to that same noise in the brush. As he creeps off to investigate, Cochise makes the understatement of the series so far: “Colonel Weaver is displaying somewhat … erratic behavior.” Tom believes Weaver will come through and calls him back before the colonel can discover the creature that’s stalking him.

In Chinatown, Anne realizes the people worship Lexi, who deflects it as gratitude for the peace. Anne questions Lexi’s détente with the Espheni. She’s admits she’s still spun over her child becoming a woman in six months’ time. Anthony and Lourdes bicker over the freedom fighters’ refusal to surrender their guns. “What the hell is the matter with you, Lourdes?” Anthony asks for us all. Anne instructs him to set up camp outside the perimeter.

Hal and Tech make a laundry list of needs: food, fresh water, fuel for the generator, medical supplies and weapons. Some people who lived there before the ghetto walls came down mention an organic farm on the edge of the perimeter that used to store fuel. Pope is ready to go get it, but Hal decides to wait for Tom’s return. Pope mocks Hal and then goes off on his own to the farm, surprising absolutely nobody except Hal.

Cochise, Tom and Weaver scout the suspiciously empty EJ School. Cochise insists he saw uniformed children marching in formation. “Sounds like a page out of the Hitler Youth playbook,” Professor Mason observes. Really, Tom? Good thing you’re here to clarify that for us. In episode 4. Before they can break in, the creature stalking Weaver attacks and injures Cochise with a venomous bite to the face, forcing him into a regenerative state. Once he’s out, Weaver admits he saw the creature when they first got out of the ghetto, but thought he was hallucinating. He asks Tom to explain the whole “skitterization of humanity” plan, and we get the episode title as Tom informs Weaver he was told humanity must evolve or die.

Dingaan has picked up a broadcast loop from Lourdes with the coordinates for Chinatown, which is about a day’s travel from the factory. Calling Hal “Top Gun” (heh), Tector interrupts with the news that Shaq and the Volm are packing up to leave. New drone data has the Espheni arriving at the factory in under 24 hours, and the Volm are bugging out while they still can. Hal refuses to leave before his father returns. Ah, trouble with the Crown Prince.

Pope finds a shed full of filled gas cans at the organic farm. Before he can load up the truck, Mira Sorvino shoots two rounds at him from her shotgun. He makes a deal to fill her in about his “friends” if she lets him fill up the truck first. Instead, she offers to deal over beer. Inside, she tells him the Apocalypse was the best thing that happened to her, freeing her from a boring life she hated. “I’m living each day as if it were my last,” she announces. She does and takes what she wants, like Pope’s truck and the gas, which makes him laugh and promptly pass out, as she’s spiked his beer. This has gotta be love at first swindle for Pope. She’s Maggie 2.0!

Speaking of Maggie, she and Ben have joined Anne at the campsite and commiserate over Lexi’s growth and how none of them know what she is anymore. They update Anne on Lexi’s truce with the Overlord. Anne and Maggie want to hunt down the Overlord, but Ben advises that this is their chance to find out what Karen did to Lexi.

Pope wakes up tied to the chair. He begs Maggie 2.0 not to leave him like that, and she decides there’s probably a legion of women out there who’d love to leave Pope exactly like that. Probably plenty of men, too. Before she can run off, a pair of mechs finds the farm. Pope knows hiding isn’t an option, and again begs her to untie him so he can bring the mech down. She finally introduces herself: “I’m Sarah, by the way.”

Tom and Weaver break into EJ School, but when Tom rouses a kid to ask after Matt, the boy blows the alarm whistle.

Pope and Sarah run for the truck—she’s driving, natch—and peel out with the mechs on their tail and a flatbed full of petrol.

At EJ School, Weaver and Matt run into Mira, who leads them to Matt’s basement cell. Weaver spots the blood trail from the creature, who promptly yanks Weaver into a cell. Matt picks the lock on his cell door, only to find Kent on the other side, who accuses Matt of being in league with the intruders calling his name. They fight, and Kent almost breaks Matt’s neck, but Tom arrives in time for a rescue.

Hal struggles over whether to obey Tom and stay, or leave before the Espheni arrive in the morning. Dingaan offers counsel: “Sometimes an infantryman has to make the hard call of a general.”

When Tom, Matt and Mira meet their first resistance at the skitter-blocked fence, Mira offers to distract them since they don’t know she’s in cahoots with Matt. Tom and Matt escape. Weaver has been dragged outside by the grotesque creature, who says, “Daddy?” and then jumps at him—or rather over him and onto the skitter about to attack. But when the skitter kills the transformed Jeanne, Weaver takes it down with a knife.

Sarah tries to dump Pope, but he’s not going anywhere now that her shotgun is out of shells. He throws her out of the truck, but her snarky rejoinders convince him to take her along.

Hal speechifies to the group that they need to leave, just as Pope returns. Hal gives Pope crap for disobeying orders, but Sarah sasses him, which visibly entertains Pope. Her Maggie 2.0 vibe is enough to dial Hal back. As Sarah peels off, Pope tells Hal he found her on a farm crawling with mechs: “We gotta go now.”

Anne, Maggie 1.0 and Ben confront Lexi. Anne believes the Overlord must want something from Lexi. She promises to not kill it, but Lexi knows she’s lying. The Overlord takes Ben over through his spikes and tells them there’s a faction that believes they can live harmoniously with humans. The Overlord strolls into view and Anne recognizes it as the one who connected to her through the Espheni umbilical cord during her pregnancy. Anne is restrained, causing Lexi to dial up the Winds of Power. She attacks Maggie and Anthony, but via Ben, the Overlord orders her to back down. When it releases Ben, he immediately draws on the Overlord, as he can feel in his head the Espheni is lying.

Hal spray-paints a message on the wall for Tom: “CROATOAN,” along with the coordinates for Chinatown. Welcome to the Falling Skies/Supernatural crossover we didn’t know we were missing. He rallies the troops for their second exodus. Shaq and the Volm go with them.

Cochise has recovered. Weaver returns and tells Tom about the transformed and now dead Jeanne. He saw she was still inside that creature: “They cannot control us. They cannot erase us!”

The ghetto Overlord grabs some dirt and squeezes it into a red-hot crystal that he uses as a communication device to speak to the Overlord in Chinatown. They call one another “Geminus” and, frankly, bicker like squabbling brothers. I half-expect one to shout, “Mom loved me best!” Chinatown Overlord tells Ghetto Overlord that Lexi is more powerful than they imagined and will be their greatest weapon once she reaches full maturity. He confirms that she follows his orders. Ghetto Overlord grouses about what he’ll do to Tom Mason once he catches up with the escaped humans. Chinatown Overlord comes back to himself tied up in Chinatown with Lexi standing beside him, gazing up with adoration.

What did you think? Anybody like Maggie 2.0 Sarah? Does it seem like it was a little too easy for Tom to get Matt out of EJ School? Sound off in the comments!

Expression Of JoyThe Brady Bunch: Groovy! The Bradys: Ritual hugging Married…With Children: ”Oh, great.” Thirtysomething: ”Of course I’m happy for you. Really. But what about me? Why does it always have to be about you? The Flintstones: ”Yabba-dabba doo

Expression Of Rage

The Brady Bunch: ”Hmmm…” The Bradys: ”If you back away from something you really want, then you’re a quitter!” (the angriest any Brady has ever been) Married…With Children: ”Aaagh, God, take me from this miserable life!” Thirtysomething: ”I’m not angry, OK?” The Flintstones: ”Willllmaaaa!”

Typical ProblemThe Brady Bunch: Marcia and her rival both want to be the prom queen. The Bradys: Bobby gets paralyzed. Married…With Children: Al doesn’t buy his family Christmas presents. Thirtysomething: Nancy gets cancer. The Flintstones: Fred and Barney are staying out too late.

Typical SolutionThe Brady Bunch: The prom committee decides to have two queens. The Bradys: Bobby gets married. Married…With Children: They hate him. Thirtysomething: If only we knew… The Flintstones: Wilma and Betty decide to follow them.

Attitude Toward SexThe Brady Bunch: Never heard of it The Bradys: Omigod — even Cindy does it! Married…With Children: Peg: Yes. Al: No. Thirtysomething: They didn’t get all those kids by accident. The Flintstones: Prehistoric

How Spouses FightThe Brady Bunch: They don’t. The Bradys: Infrequently, but it happens Married…With Children: Tooth and nail Thirtysomething: They stop talking The Flintstones: Fred and Barney go bowling while Wilma and Betty max out their charge cards.

How Kids Get Into TroubleThe Brady Bunch: Greg takes a puff of a cigarette. The Bradys: Carol’s grandson steals her business cards and sticks them in the spokes of Bobby’s wheelchair. Married…With Children: By committing felonies Thirtysomething: Ethan plays with a forbidden toy rocket. The Flintstones: They don’t.

How They’re Punished

The Brady Bunch: ”It’s not what you did, honey — it’s that you couldn’t come to us.” The Bradys ”Next time, ask.” Married…With Children: By the authorities Thirtysomething: It blows up in his face. The Flintstones: They’re not.

What Family Does For FunThe Brady Bunch: Takes special three-part vacations to Hawaii and the Grand Canyon The Bradys: Has flashbacks Married…With Children: Exchanges insults Thirtysomething: Talks The Flintstones: Attends showings of The Monster at the Bedrock Drive-In

Unsolved MysteriesThe Brady Bunch: How exactly did Carol’s first husband and Mike’s first wife die? The Bradys: What’s with Marcia’s new face and Bobby’s blonde hair Married…With Children: What kind of hair spray does Peg use? Thirtysomething: Why did Nancy take Elliot back? What do Gary and Susanna see in each other? The Flintstones: How does Barney’s shirt stay on if he has no shoulders? Where do Fred and Wilma plug in their TV?

Worst BehaviorThe Brady Bunch: The Brady children once made Alice feel under-appreciated.

Best Reason To WatchThe Brady Bunch: This is what life should be. The Bradys: They’re all grown-ups now! Married…With Children: Terry Rakolta hates it. Thirtysomething (Tie) This is your life. This isn’t your life. The Flintstones: This is what life might have been.

Best Reason Not To WatchThe Brady Bunch: Blurred vision from rerun overdoses. The Bradys: You’re all grown-ups now. Married…With Children: She has a point. Thirtysomething: After a while, you think it’s real. The Flintstones: The Simpsons